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Thursday, September 1, 2016

Roster prediction time

Time to dust off the old crystal ball and predict the
Browns’ final – using that term loosely here – 53-man roster as they set the
table for the launch of the 2016 season.

These predictions are being made before the final exhibition
later Thursday night against the Chicago Bears at home with the distinct
possibility injuries might play a role in what the final 53 will look like.

Two exceptions will be made because of National Football
League four-game suspensions handed out to wide receiver Josh Gordon and
outside linebacker Armonty Bryant right out of the chute.

Their names will not appear in the predicted final 53, but
their appearance in game five against New England during the regular season will
trigger the release of two names that do appear here.

Bear in mind the roster, such as it is when all NFL teams
must be at the 53-man limit by 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon, is extremely fluid. What you
see at 4 p.m. Saturday most likely will look at least somewhat different by the
time the Browns travel to Philadelphia for the regular season opener Sept. 11.

The transaction wire will hum furiously when all the roster
trims are announced and finalized through the league’s clearinghouse Saturday.
Most roster moves by the Browns after that will be made on the second-team and
special-team levels.

That said, here is what I believe the Cleveland roster will
look like at 4 p.m. Saturday. Listed by position, name, who stays, who leaves.

First, the offense.

Quarterback: Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler.
With the distinct possibility The Third does not make it through an entire
season, all are safe here. Unless the first two are injured, this is a learning
season for Kessler.

Running back: Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson Jr., Raheem
Mostert, Terrell Watson, Malcolm Johnson, Rajion Neal. Neal is the only casualty
with Mostert and Watson backing up Crowell and Duke Johnson. Malcolm Johnson is
the only fullback on the roster and safe. (Update correction: Add Jahwan Edwards to this list, then subtract him. He'll join Neal looking for a job.)

Coleman, Gabriel, Higgins, Jennings, Moore, Payton and Pryor
are safe. The veteran Hawkins, with a history of concussions will be trimmed,
along with Louis.

Tight end: Gary Barnidge, Connor Hamlett, Seth DeValve, J. P.
Holtz. Holtz will be the lone casualty. Barnidge, of course, is a Pro Bowl type
receiver. The 6-7 Hamlett has been a pleasant surprise and the coaches want to
see more of DeValve.

Offensive line: Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio, Cameron Erving,
John Greco, Austin Pasztor, Alvin Bailey, Dan France, Spencer Drango, Shon
Coleman, Garth Gerhart, Mike Matthews, Kaleb Johnson. Normally, teams keep
eight men on the offensive line. The Browns will keep nine with Gerhart,
Matthews and Johnson exiting. Look for either Coleman or Drango to move up to
the first team by midseason, if not sooner.

Now the other side of the football.

Defensive line: This is where the roster needs the most
work. Right now, there are only seven men listed on the roster and two, end
Kenton Adeyemi and tackle Chigbo Anunoby, will be looking for work Saturday.

That leaves Xavier Cooper, rookie Carl Nassib, John Hughes
III, Jamie Meder and Danny Shelton, a young and extremely inexperienced group.
Look for some waiver movement here. The Browns need at least six men on the
roster at this position.

Inside linebacker: Demario Davis, Justin Tuggle, Scooby
Wright III, Christian Kirksey, Tank Carder, Dominique Alexander. Davis and
Kirksey, who played mostly outside last season, are solid along with Carder and
Tuggle, reliable special teamers. Alexander has been a pleasant surprise. Only
Wright will be missing when the Browns start preparing for the season opener
against the Eagles. Too bad. I was hoping he would be more impactful, but the
pro game seems to quick for him.

There are still 15 defensive backs on the roster. Nine will
be kept. Here’s how they break down.

Cornerback: Joe Haden, Justin Gilbert, Trey Caldwell,
Charles Gaines, Jamar Taylor, Tramon Williams, Tracy Howard, Eric Patterson,
Mikell Everette. Big surprise here will be the departures of Gilbert and
Williams. The former has continued to disappoint; the latter is well on the
downside of his career. Also gone are Howard and Everette. Haden and Taylor
will start with Caldwell, Gaines and Patterson worked into the various sub
packages.

Free safety: Jordan Poyer, Rahim Moore, Pierre Desir. The
disappointing Desir, who started as a corner, finally leaves after two
disappointing seasons. Poyer starts, but Moore sees a lot of playing time in
some of those sub packages.

Finally the special-teams specialists.

Long snapper Charley Hughlett is unopposed, as they say in
politics. And after Travis Coons’ release, Patrick Murray is the placement
specialist. The punting job is up in the air after the trade of Andy Lee. Kasey
Redfern and Michael Palardy were added to the roster within the last week
following the Lee deal. It’s possible both will be gone by the Eagles game,
depending on what the waiver wire looks like late Saturday. If no moves are made, Redfern
is the choice.

Looking forward to seeing how much different the Cleveland roster
looks at 4 p.m. Saturday compared to what you see here. Either way, the bottom
line suggests only one conclusion: It’s going to be a very long season.